Remember that time I said that 2020 was the year of Europe when it came to my travel plans?

Well, not so much anymore.

In fact, 2020 — which started off as a year with so many possibilities — has become a certified cluster. It’s been one thing after another after another – the biggest thing being that crazy pandemic called COVID-19.

I remember first hearing about this particular coronavirus back in January, after I had come back from Budapest. One of my colleagues asked me, “have you heard about this coronavirus in China?” At the time, I hadn’t, but I quickly learned in the following days about the disease, first discovered in Wuhan in China’s Hubei province.

I admit, I remember reading about it in the news and thinking it was a terrible thing that felt so distant; not like something that would impact me or my day-to-day, or that couldn’t be contained within that immediate area. So, I went about my daily life and planned all my trips for the year, per usual. Silly and selfish, I know.

Fast forward a few weeks later. By this time, COVID-19 had not only started to spread around Asia, it had leapt across the world, firmly planting itself in Italy. And yet, I still didn’t take it that seriously because:

I felt like there were way more cases of COVID-19 than being reported, making the mortality rate much lower than what the World Health Organization was communicating, and
I kept reading how the majority of people experienced very mild symptoms and it was more akin to the flu than another else. I also felt like the media was causing unnecessary panic (in some ways I still do).

So, while I was slightly anxious to see the reported numbers tick up, I also felt a bit calm about the whole thing when I thought about the sheer number of people on this planet compared to the number of people being impacted by COVID-19.

That is, I felt calm until it came time for my birthday trip.

My original birthday plans: Fly into London on March 8th, then continue on to Geneva, Switzerland, then take a car transfer to the French Alps. Celebrate my birthday in the French Alps (including a trip to Chamonix) and stay there until March 12th, then go back to Geneva for two days then to London for two days before flying back home.

What actually happened: After trying unsuccessfully to cancel my flights and hotels (some of my hotels said they’d cancel for free, one did not, and the airlines were firm at the time about no changes or cancellations), I flew into London on March 8th (more on the actual flying experience below), then continued on to Geneva, then went on to the French Alps. I celebrated my birthday in the Alps, as planned, though no trip to Chamonix, as it’s too close to the Italian border and it made me nervous going there. Then, on March 12th, I woke up around 4:30 a.m. French time due to jet lag and saw numerous texts on my phone about a travel ban, with friends and family asking me if I would be stuck in Europe. After quickly reading up on the situation, a decision was made to not take any chances, and I left the Alps to head to Geneva, as originally planned, but then instead of staying in Geneva, I continued on to the airport and flew from Geneva to London to New York, all on March 12th. I also cancelled the rest of my paid time off (PTO) for the week and went back to work (remotely) the next day.

It was a birthday trip, interrupted, but one I chose to interrupt. Because a lot can happen in a few days, and I realized that while there may be way more cases of COVID-19 than is being reported thus lowering the mortality rate, I needed to take this seriously. The most vulnerable to this disease based on current mortality rates: people over 60 — which would mean my parents and diabetic grandmother — and the immunocompromised — which includes people of all ages whose bodies may not be able to fight this still unknown disease. These reasons alone made me realize this is something to be taken seriously, regardless of the number of cases.

I also realized while traveling – particularly while flying – how cavalier some people are about this disease because they are only thinking of themselves. While I lathered myself in soap and anti-bacterial gel at every opportunity and wiped down all the airplane and airport lounge seats, I can’t count the number of people who coughed without covering their mouths, only to then touch something in the airport. Quite frankly, it was beyond disturbing, and it was pretty much the only time when I truly felt the presence of this outbreak. When others seemed to not have any regard for it, I felt like I had more regard, and I remember thinking, “No wonder this thing is spreading; some people have no personal hygiene!”

Since returning home to self-quarantine, per the CDC’s recommendation, I have seen the number of reported cases climb even higher – both globally and in my own city of New York – while so many young people continue to go to bars and restaurants like it’s another typical Saturday night. But, it’s not. And continuing to go about your daily life because YOU have nothing to worry about because YOU are healthy is irresponsible and selfish. If you don’t want to stay home for yourself, stay home for your loved ones and your friends’ loved ones.

I won’t deny that it’s hard. So many people’s livelihoods depend on travel and hospitality and having these amazing experiences. In fact, I have asked myself more than once if I should cancel my upcoming trip to Miami and the Cayman Islands (scheduled for after my self-quarantine ends) because I will have already self-quarantined and should be feeling fine. Then, in the same breath, I’d say to myself, “Tausha, stop being silly and selfish. Of course you need to cancel.” As for my other European trips, many of those will likely be canceled as well. This is an unprecedented time in our world that requires making the choice to think bigger than ourselves.

The team at AFAR phrased it well:

The responsible thing to do seems to be to stay where we are and not travel—for now. With testing not widely available and a virus that can be spread when one doesn’t have symptoms, we feel we should reduce the number of people with whom we come into contact. Not out of concern for ourselves, but for others and for society at large. This is so difficult. We’ve had to fight our lifelong inclination to get in the action, and instead we are called to stay out of the action.

So, for now, I’m staying at home and pleading others to do the same. We’ll all get back to traveling one day. Despite everything going on right now, I still believe in the beauty of our world, and I still cannot wait to get back to exploring and experiencing it. But, right now, we stay home, we stay healthy and we stay empathetic to the needs of our society at large.

PS - Will share some photos (and maybe a video) from my birthday trip, interrupted, soon. Stay safe, y’all.